The Legend of Zelda: The Goddess Orbs of Hyrule
by HeavyArtillery
Summary: Long ago, he tried to overthrow the creators of their world, to send their people back to living within caves. But he was stopped, cast down, and imprisoned. And now, he, the God of Destruction has returned to resume his plans. And only two have the courage and wisdom to withstand him.on hhaitus.
1. Dragons and Axes

Eight hours prior, 3:00 AM, Sunday...

A battle raged around Link.

He had been trying to cross the borders of Hyrule. Illegally of course, not that he had much of a choice.

Link came from a very poor family, and the past years hadn't changed that fact. Without the ability to purchase the proper legal papers, he resorted to illegal immigration to get to his next destination, the Hylian homeland of Hyrule.

What he wasn't expecting was to be ambushed by a bunch of Imperial Legionnaires. Well, he wasn't the target of the ambush, a ragtag group of soldiers that had appeared at the opposite side of the clearing that Link had stumbled onto was.

Immediately, Imperial troops had appeared from the underbrush and engaged the ragtag soldiers. As swords clashed and shields splintered, Link managed to take refuge under a great oak.

Link watched on as an Imperial's sword shoved it's way through the chest of a soldier. He watched as more Imperials downed more soldiers. Blood stained the ground and the weapons of the Imperials. What was left of the ragtag soldiers sounded cries of retreat and began to hastily sprint back the way they came with a large chunk of the Imperial force chasing after them, shouting taunts.

Link saw his chance to sneak away. He turned to leave... only to come face-to-face with and Imperial Legionnaire.

They observed each other quietly.

Then the Legionnaire smiled wolfishly and raised his sword, and, before Link could react, slammed the hilt against Link's skull, effectively knocking him out.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Current time, 11:00 AM, Sunday...

Link groaned as he came around, his head throbbing. After a few seconds, he realized that he was in a horse-drawn wagon with three other men.

"Glad to see your awake."

Link blinked and focused on the man sitting in front of him. The man had a Sheikah look to him. Deeply tanned skin, gleaming red eyes, and bright blond hair. The Sheikah looked at him, and Link stared blankly back.

"Your in some pretty big pile of dung right now, traveler", the Sheikah stated. Link shot the man a confused, and tried to sit up, only to find that his hands were bound.

Link's eyes widened as the Sheikah gave a small, ironic smile.

"You had nasty luck to come upon that battle, friend. They probably thought that you were one of us."

Link observed the other two men in the cart. Diagonally, to the right, sat a shrunken man, who looked like he hadn't eaten at all for days. His hair was choppy and uneven, filth covered his skin, and his clothes were rags.

The man sitting to the right of Link, however, was completely different. He seemed well-fed, and was cleaner. He wore a fur cloak. His face was old and he was gagged, unlike the other men. He had a beard of deep gray, and was struggling defiantly against his bonds.

"Who are you?", questioned Link.

The Sheikah spoke up, sounding annoyed. "What do you mean 'Who are you'? Everybody knows who he is! Rauru Mageheart!"

Link looked at the Sheikah in confusion "Who?"

The Sheikah sighed and glared at Link. "Rauru Mageheart, the leader of the Mageheart Rebellion."

Link wanted to say that didn't know who this Rauru is or what the Mageheart Rebellion was, nor did he care, but the Imperial soldier driving the wagon turned around and snapped, "Prisoners! Keep your mouths shut before I disconnect your heads from your bodies!"

After several minutes of silence, the dirty man spoke quietly.

"Where do you think their taking us?"

Link didn't know, but apparently the Sheikah man knew because immediately he replied, "Avolon."

"Why?", Link asked.

"I'm not sure, but the Sacred Realm waits...", the Sheikah said grimly.

"Wait... No... No, no, no! You can't possibly mean...", the dirty man trailed off, beginning to panic for a reason unknown to Link.

"What are you talking about? What's in Avolon?", he asked the Sheikah.

He sighed before looking Link in the eye and saying, "It's where the Empire tends to execute prisonors."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

3:00 PM...

Link craned his neck and made out the stone walls of a town up ahead.

"Avolon...", the Sheikah whispered hoarsely.

The dirty man had spent the past few hours pleading innocence with their Imperial Legionnaire who was steering the horse-drawn wagon.

After hours on end of the dirty man's begging and pleading, the Imperial soldier finally had enough, and stopped the wagon before whacking the poor man across the face. After that, the man hadn't made a single sound.

So now, as they approached Avolon, the man broke his silence and began sending rapid prayers to the Golden Goddesses.

As the wagon drew closer and closer, the gates of Avolon swung open, admitting their wagon along with two other prison wagons that carried more rebels prisoners behind them.

As the final wagon crossed the threshold, the gates creaked inwards before clanging shut, seemingly sealing their fate.

They rode down the winding main road until it opened up into a plaza.

"Father! What are those soldiers doing with those guys?", a young boy asked, tugging the sleeve of a middle-age man, who slung his arms protectively around the shoulders of his son, saying, "Come my boy, it's not our place to be here."

As the father lead his son off, the wagons turned until they were facing the town hall and stopped next to a guard tower.

The driver leapt out of his seat, walked around to the back of the wagon, and opened the end, ordering the group out.

When the prisoners were out and lined up, facing the town hall, a pair of Imperials approached, one female, obviously the captain of the guard, due to the makeup of her armour. The other, a grunt no doubt, was carrying a writing tablet along with a bottle of ink and a quill.

The guard captain strode forward, and cried out, "Alright you rebel scum! As you probably know by now, you're pitiful lives are nearing their end! However, because the High King likes to keep track of which rebels he has killed, it is his will for our friend here", she gestured towards the grunt with the writing utensils, "to double-check if we captured the right men, despite the fact that that he is so inept that he couldn't clean the washroom properly."

The grunt's ear turned red in embarrassment and he looked down before the captain snapped, "Well? What are yon waiting for your useless crap-shoot!?"

The grunt scrambled t forward and began calling out names of prisoners.

As a name was called, the designated prisoner stepped forward, receiving a confirmation on the writing slate and a snide remark from the captain of the guard.

"Dipon Retey!"

The dirty men began to tremble and stepped forward. The guard captain took a deep sniff and made a face. "Ugh. When was the last you bathed yourself Retey? Ten years? Twenty? Not that it matters. Filthy or clean, your head will be rolling off your shoulders anyway."

At this, Dipon burst out, "All I did was steal a horse!", before bolting away from the group.

The captain sighed, raised her hand, and called out, "Archers!"

Instantly, two arrows embedded themselves in Dipon's backside, and he fell to the ground, dead.

The guard captain turn to the rest of the prisoners and spat, "Anyone else have any bright ideas?" When nobody answered she nodded her head. "That's what I thought. Get back to work!", she snapped at the grunt, who Immedialty called out, "Rauru Mageheart!"

The gagged man who had sat next to Link stepped forward.

The captain strode forward, a vicious smile playing on her lips. "Ah, so the rumors were true. The great Rauru Mageheart", she laughed, "leader of the Mageheart rebellion, about to by executed. I hope you will take solace in knowing that your Mageheart soldiers will follow you to the Dark Realm soon after your death and your rebellion falls apart." She pushed him back into the line of prisoners.

"Sheik Harkinian!"

The Sheikah man stood forward, straight and tall.

"Harkinian is it? I've heard about your family. Hmmmm, quite the bit of drama they have going on, don't they?", the guard captain purred mockingly. Sheik stepped back into the line.

"I think that's it-", the grunt had began to say before spotting Link.

"Ma'am! That man... He isn't on our records!"

The captain spun around. "What!?"

She marched up to Link. "Step forward!", she ordered.

Link obeyed.

"You", she pointed at the grunt, "Record him."

The grunt nodded hurriedly before directing his attention to Link. "A Hylian?", he said, observing Link's pointed ears. "You picked a bad time to come to Hyrule, kinsman. Now, who _are_ you?"

Link stepped forward proudly, sandy blond hair waving in the wind, deep blue eyes filled with acceptance of his impending death, and toned muscles rippling slightly underneath the rough-spun, green tunic, beige pants, and aged leather boots.

"Link Gaiden."

The grunt nodded and Link stepped back.

"Alright filth", the guard captain called out. "Time to take you all to meet your executioner."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

The captain led the prisoners through the town hall into an inner courtyard where a large man dressed in black stood, a hefty axe resting on his shoulder. He stood next to a blood-soaked slab of stone and a crate filled with human heads.

"This, filth, is Artion.", the captain declared. "He will responsible for beheading you, so be respectful."

Artion smiled evilly. "All right then", he said in a deep gruff voice, "Who wants to go first?"

When nobody volunteered, Artion's smile grew wider and he strode forward, gripped the arm of the nearest Mageheart and dragged him over to the chopping block.

Forcing the man to his knees and securing him to the block, Artion took a step back, readied his axe, and swung downwards. Link looked away as the axe connected with the neck of the unfortunate man, ending his life.

Artion grinned around looking for his next victim. Link watched as the executioner's gaze fell upon him and a few seconds later, found his head being forced down on the block.

Just as Artion raised his axe, a distant roar echoed in the sky. Everyone present looked around wearily, trying to pinpoint where the roar came from. After a minute, Artion shrugged and raised his axe again. But before he could end Link's existence, the roar sounded again, this time much closer then before. All present looked around wearily, a sense of deep foreboding overcoming them.

And then things went wild.

The roar thundered overhead and a great, winged, reptilian beast landed on the roofs surrounding the courtyard. It was as black as night itself with silvery horns spouting in random parts of it's body. On it's forehead (Did giant flying lizards even have foreheads?) laid a sun shaped, yellow gem. It's eyes also gleamed yellow as it observed the inhabitants of the courtyard.

It stay like that, humans observing monstrous reptile and monstrous reptile observing humans, for a minute, and then, the creature opened it's mouth and blasted forth a massive column of fire, incinerating half of the courtyard, including Artion.

Link managed to roll out of the way as a second burst of fire charged at him. By now, alarms bells were being sounded throughout Avolon. Link looked to see the creature, with only one word echoing over and over in his mind.

_Dragon._

Then, things got stranger.

The dragon leapt down, as if the massive beast wished to land in the courtyard, the only problem was that when it landed, it was no longer a dragon, but a man. This man stood at least seven feet tall, and his skin was a sickly green. The sun crystal was still embedded in his forehead and his eyes still yellow, but Link could see the malice clearly within them.

The man looked around and then chuckled darkly as Imperil Legionaries surrounded him, as if he found the idea amusing.

_"Destion fo rgoud"_, the man shouted, thrusting his hands into the ground. As soon as he did that, the ground exploded, throwing Legionaries and Magehearts into the air.

Link was thrown as well, and caused him to smash into the walls of town hall. Groaning, he tried to het up, only to have much trouble due to his hands still being bound by rope.

He looked back and saw the silhouette of the man warp and change until a dragon shot up into the sky.

Just as he was trying to jump up on to his feet, two hands grabbed him roughly and yanked him on his feet. Link turned and saw that his savior was Sheik the Sheikah.

Before Link could thank the man, Sheik grabbed him by the arm and dragged him rapidly away from the courtyard. "Come on! We need to get out of this place!", Sheik said, his tone panicked.

Noticing that Link's hands were still bound, the Sheikah produced a knife and quickly slashed off Link's bindings.

"Where did you-", Link began to ask before being hushed by Sheik. "Now is not the time, nor the place, for questions. Follow me."

The two men made their way around the twists and turns of Avolon, the sounds of the dragon maiming and killing Imperials echoed around the pair. As they a market square, the dragon decended, his form warping and twisting until the large man landed with a thud on the ground. Instantly, the Imperials charged, weapons raised. The dragon man spoke again.

_"Oyu lwil ont niw"_

Two black scimitars appeared in his hands, and he instantly unleashed an onslaught of death upon the Imperials. One by one, Imperials were murdered, decapitated, and slaughtered into only four remained. The man smiled darkly before returning to his dragon form and taking to the sky, leaving the shell-shocked Imperials to clean up their dead as the monstrosity began terrorizing a new section of Avolon.

"Come on!", Sheik command, moving away the main gate.

"But the gate is right there!", Link protested.

"It's not safe and there's still Imperials there. Now come on! I know a different way out."

Link followed the Sheikah until they arrived at the guard barracks. Sheik entered the building, and after hesitating for a second, Link followed.

When Link got inside, he found Sheik rummaging through a small armoury. The young Sheik stood up after a few seconds, clutching a battle axe in his hands, and gestured to the Armory. "Take your pick."

After picking his way around the sharp blades of the weapons, Link's hands fell on an one-handed sword. He stood up, and swung the the blade in a few practice swings before stopping and nodding towards Sheik, indicating the he was ready to move on.

However, before they could move on, the barrack's doors began to swing open, causing Sheik to shoot Link a look that plainly said 'hide!' Quickly sliding behind a stack of barrels, Link peeked over to see who had arrived.

"-and try to alert the 2nd division. We need to regroup our forces so we can launch a counter attack against that-that _thing_.", the guard captain ordered to two lieutenants walking behind her.

Link looked over to his companion, who mouthed, "_Wait till I attack_."

Link waited until the Imperials were only inches away from his hiding place, when Sheik jumped up, his battle axe raised, and threw it at the nearest Imperial. The axe embedded itself in the chest of the unfortunate Imperial, who dropped to his knees before falling forward, his life extinguished.

"Why you-!", the captain shouted before Sheik charged her and attacked using the knife that he used to cut Link's bindings earlier. While the two fought sword to knife, Link burst from behind the barrels and engaged the second of the lieutenants. Their swords clashed together, and the lieutenant put up a strong defense, but already taxed from the dragon attack, the lieutenant tired quickly, slipping up enough for Link to drive his blade into the upper chest of the Imperial.

Link pulled his sword out and let the corpse fall to the ground. He turned to find Sheik puling his axe out from the first casualty.

"Here. You forgot this." Sheik tossed Link a sword sheath. Link examined the sheath for a second before slinging it onto his back and sheathed g his bloodied weapon.

"On the back? That's... Unorthodox, but hey, whatever makes you happy.", Sheik commented.

When Link didn't answer, Sheik gestured for Link to follow him. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Turns out that the alternate way out of Avolon was a dank, claustrophobic tunnel that the two navigated for half an hour before emerging into sunlight.

However before they could take even a few steps, a mighty roar sounded behind them, causing the two to hit the ground as the dragon passed overhead, flying towards a valley below them.

As the beast disappeared in the distance, Link got up and said "That... Was close..."

However, when Sheik stood he was pale and trembling slighty.

"We need to go to Streamwood."

"Uhh, why?"

"The dragon went in that direction."

"So?", Link asked, not seeing where Sheik was going with this.

When Sheik turned towards him, his red eyes filled with worry and fear, Link knew something was up.

"Because... My sister lives there and that could be the dragon's next target..."

Link's eyes widened.

"Then let's not waste any time, friend, lead on."

**Author's note: Alrightly then! What did you people think about this? Could you please review? I don't care what you put, from good reveiws to McDonald's breakfast menu, just write something. Thanks.**

**Heavy Artillery**

**P.S. I have another story, the Legend of Zelda: Black Blood, out so if you're interested, check it out.**


	2. Mythology Lessons

Link followed Sheik until they came across a worn stone roadway.

Sheik immediately turned to the right, towards the side the road that was steady declining into the valley below. After about an hour of navigating down the mountainous path, the road leveled out and ran along the shore of a turbulent river.

Sheik broke out into a run with Link following closely behind. They ran for what seemed like hours until in the distance, nestled under a rocky cliff, a village appeared.

Unlike Avolon, which had large stone walls protecting it, Streamwood had none. All it had was a wooden, roofed arch over it with the woods _Welcome to Streamwood_craved into Link entered behind Sheik, he saw that no guards or soldiers patrolled the streets. Streamwood was pitifully defenseless.

Link turned around to look up the mountain where Avolon was, seeing a massive column of black smoke spiraling up into the sky.

No sign of the dragon man.

He followed Sheik as they turned of the main road that ran through Streamwood, and entered a section where several wooden houses were located. They fast walked to the house at the end and Link saw a young woman, around his age, looking up into the sky, using one hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She wore a long dress that stopped at her ankles and her long, golden hair was braided back intricately. As the two men approached, she turned, showing her face. Her face was well-shaped and her eyes were blue, though if Link looked closely enough, he thought he could see flecks of violet. Her ears, as is typical of all Hylain women, were elongated far more then his. Her nose fitted her face, not to big or small, and her lips were a luscious red.

Upon spotting Link's Sheikah companion, the young woman hitched up her dress and ran towards Sheik before tackling him with a brutal hug.

"Oof! Hey! Be careful!", Sheik protested.

After several seconds the young woman got up off Sheik, dusting herself off and snapped, "Do you realized how worried I was when heard that you got caught by Imperials! But then I see smoke coming from Avolon and a giant flying lizard thing and suddenly your here and-and what the name of Din's Fury is going on, Sheik?" She looked livid, her arms crossed and her foot tapping, waiting for an answer.

Sheik smile disarmingly at the women. "Nice to see you too, Zelda."

Zelda glared at him before letting out a sigh."Come on, it's better if you-", she stopped when she spotted Link, her eyes widened slighty. "Uh, Sheik, who's that?"

Sheik turned to look at Link. "Oh, that's just... Link Gaiden?" Link nodded his head in confirmation. "Alright, yeah. Okay Zelda? He's a friend, got mixed up in an Imperial ambush, a mistake you see."

Zelda looked curiously at Link. "You mean, he's not a Mageheart?"

Sheik let out a small chuckle. "Oh, Goddesses no! Though with the way he handles his blade, Rauru wouldn't mind having him in the Mageheart army!"

Zelda raised her eyebrow. "Well, good warriors or not, the two of you are filthy! Come on, let's get you two cleaned up."

An hour later, after bathing and tending to the injuries that were gotten at Avolon(burns were dominate), Sheik and Link sat at the table as Zelda hurried around, cooking a meal for the two men, who hadn't eaten at all during the day. Link's and Sheik's original clothing were taken had replaced by civilian clothing and Zelda said that after dinner she would repair the clothes.

One thing Link couldn't understand was that Sheik and Zelda were siblings. The two looked completely different from each other. At first glance, Sheik looked like a Sheikah, and Zelda looked like a Hylian. Sheik had been quick to explain that he and Zelda were half and half. Zelda took after their father, a Hylian, while Sheik took after their mother, a Sheikah. Link had been surprised at this. From what he heard about Sheikah, they tended to never look at the other variants of the Human race (Hylians, Gerudo, and regular humans)in a romantic view, let alone have children with them.

Anyways, after the three ate an excellent dinner prepared by Zelda, talk turned to what had happened at Avolon.

"-and then it turned into a man!" Sheik had began telling the story with the occasional comment from Link. "So then I grab Link, cut him loose and we made our way through Avolon, went the barracks, and out through a tunnel, dealing with any Imperials that stood in our way out, of course", Sheik finished, his chest puffed out slightly in pride. Then his face turned serious. "You know what that means, right Zel? About the dragon man, with those old legends you like to read about."

Zelda sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Yes, the description of the man sounds like Ganon, though I've never heard anything about him turning into a dragon..."

"What's Ganon?", Link asked, having been lost at the mention of the name.

Both Sheik and Zelda looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. "Um... Don't know about the gods?", Zelda asked.

"Yeah...", Link answered not seeing where she was going with this. "Din, Farore, and Nayru right?"

"Uh, no. I was talking about the minor gods and goddesses.", Zelda said.

When Link stared at her blankly, she sighed. "I guess we need to explain this to you before we go on."

"Okay, there are dozens minor gods," Zelda began. "And they're divided into two sides, good and evil. On the side of Good you have Elzo, God of Winds; Bryne God of Redemption; Tetra, Goddess of Strength; Oshus, God of the Ocean; Faron, Goddess of Lakes and Rivers; Eldin, God of Fire; and Lanayru, God of Technology. On the side of Evil you have Vaati, God of Dark Wind; Malladus, God of the Undead; Verna, Goddess of Nightmares; Bellum, God of Evil Waters; Skullki, God of Insanity; and Zant, God of Earth."

"Wait.", Link interrupted, "What about the Golden Goddesses?"

"They're neutral. Or at least that's what the legends say."

"And that's all?", Link asked. "All the gods and goddesses?"

Zelda put on a face on deep recollection before saying, "No... There are two more. You have Hylia, patron of the human race, protector of civilization, and Demise, the Demon King, ruler of all that is evil." She then looked at Link and her brother. "But they're both dead."

Link's eyebrow shot up at this. "Dead? How does a god die?"

Zelda wetted her lips before saying, "Uh, well, I don't know the specifics, but the legends say that Demise was killed by a hero from the sky, whatever that means, and Hylian gave up her immortal form for that of a mortal's, and since mortals die, I guess it's safe to say that mortal Hylia eventually died."

"Alright then!", Sheik broke in. "Now that we've given you a crash course on the minor divinities, it's time to discuss more pressing matters. Like for instance, the fact that Ganon attacked Avolon."

Link shrugged. "What's the big deal? He _is_ the Lord of Evil. Doesn't he do stuff like that all the time?"

Zelda sighed. "That's the problem. He doesn't do stuff like that all the time because he's suppose to be sealed away in the deepest pits of the Dark Realm. If he got out, then that really, really bad."

"He was sealed?", Link asked, blankly.

Zelda let out another sigh, this time sounding more frustrated. "How do you not know anything about Hyrulian mythology?"

"I do know the Story of Creation.", Link supplied.

Zelda glared at him. "Everyone knows the Story of Creation, fool. Haven't you ever gone to school?"

"Actually...", Link started off hesitantly, "I haven't."

"Goddesses, that explains so much", Zelda muttered while Link let out an indignant "Hey!"

Sheik cleared his throat. "Uh, Zel? How about you just tell the story instead of fretting over our friend's lack of a proper education."

Zelda rubbed her eyes sleepily before focusing back on Link. "Yes, I believe will."

And so Zelda began.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Long, long ago, when Hyrule was still it's own independent kingdom, lived a man known as Ganondorf. He was a Gerudo male, and therefore the king of the Gerudo tribe. Originally, he was a fair and kind king, never entering a unnecessary war, always respectful to the kingdom of Hyrule which bordered his lands.

But then, the Great Famine struck. The Gerudo, without anything to eat, resorted to thievery and raids on their Hylian neighbors for food and supplies. The Famine also had a deep effect on Ganondorf. At the sight of the famine and the fact that the kingdom of Hyrule was doing little to help greatly angered the man.

And so, he began to plot the downfall of Hyrule, and to claim it's fertile land for the Gerudo.

He began trips to Hyrule Castle in the pretense of negotiating for aid for his people, when in fact, he was observing the defensive capabilities of the castle.

Then, on the day that he would strike, he made one final plea for Hyrule to give aid to Gerudo. When he was rebuked, he quickly killed the king and his royal guard. He went, killing guards along the way, and opened the castle gates, letting in a band of the most elite Gerudo soldiers to assist him. The moved throughout the castle, looking for Ganondorf's new primary target, the princess of Hyrule. He found the child princess being mounted on a horse with her Sheikah nursemaid. Ganondorf quickly mounted his own steed and gave chase.

It wasn't only lust to spill the princess's blood the drove him, but the fact that she was rumored to carry an ocorina that could bend time to the user's will. It was that power he needed to fulfill his corrupt desires, and would stop at nothing until he had that ocarina in hand.

However, as he raced after his prey, a young boy wearing the garb of the Kokiri appeared, blocking his path. Annoyed, the Gerudo King dispatched the boy with a bolt of energy. He would have stopped to kill the boy, yet the princess's steed was fading in the distance, so instead he opted to warn the boy from attempting to stop his progress before tearing off after the princess.

Unfortunately for Ganondorf, the princess and the Ocarina had managed to slip away completely, or so he thought.

As the Gerudo returned to the castle, intent on rounding up his elite task force and delivering the news of his conquest to all of Hyrule so that they would know who is in charge now, the man saw the boy from earlier fishing around in the moat of the castle. The boy stopped, his hands around what he had been searching for. Ganondorf watched as the boy raised his hands above the water and could see a faint glint of blue.

The Ocarina.

The boy quickly sprinted off, calling a chestnut horse and mounting it before speeding.

Curious on why that boy needed the Ocarina, Ganondorf followed. He made sure to keep himself far enough so that the boy wouldn't detect him, let close enough so he would not lose the child.

Much to his astonishment, the boy headed towards the Temple of Time. Ganondorf observed as the boy placed three stone on a pedestal and began to play the Ocarina. He watched as a door opened, revealing a room with an enshrined, purple hilted sword. The boy entered and approached the weapon, and Ganondorf watched with great interest as the child gripped the weapon and yanked it out of it's shrine. Immediately, the boy stiffened and his muscles seized up. Ganondorf smiled darkly, knowing the legend. That boy was far too young to wield the sword. Instead the sword had began to put the lad into a deep sleep until he was old enough to use the weapon. Then the Gerudo remembered that the chamber where the sword was was the entrance to the Sacred Realm.

The evil man strode forward and mockingly thanked the boy for letting him get his hands on the Golden power that had been his ultimate goal.

Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm and quickly located the power. But, as he laid his hands upon it, the power fractured into three, two pieces fled and one remained. This enraged the man, who took out his fury on the newly conquered Hyrule. When his anger had subsided days later, Ganondorf decided to put what he had to use, and proclaimed himself the King of Evil.

However, seven years later, the boy, now a man, appeared, wielding Evil's Bane. Despite his best attempts, the young man managed to awaken all the sages and confronted Ganondorf at his castle. The two fought, long and hard, until, one step at a time, the hero defeated Ganondorf.

Ganondorf wasn't about to go down in defeat yet. Calling upon the Power he held, and using his hatred of the man to manifest himself, he ceased to exist as Ganondorf, and Ganon.

Attacking the man once again, the beast manage to knock Evil's Bane away, sealing it off with magic, and proceeded to kill the man. The hero proved to be more resourceful than anticipated and used a variety of weapons to subdue Ganon. Slowly, the man chipped away at Ganon while avoiding the massive swords the beast swung that could end his life in one slash.

Eventually, Ganon couldn't take any more and he collapsed, and accidentally released the magical barrier the had prevented the man from obtaining his primary weapon. The hero had wasted no time in securing the weapon and turned back to face the beast. The hatred Ganon felt for the man increased by ten-fold and the beast got up and began brutally attacking the hero.

They fought for what had seemed like an eternity.

Until finally, Ganon's wounds were such in number, that not even his hatred for the man could compensate. As he tried to rise, the princess, the wretched bitch, used her power to pin the beast down, allowing the hero to easily deliver the finishing blow.

Suddenly, he found himself trapped. He knew where he was.

The Dark Realm.

The Realm that was the opposite of the Sacred Realm, where the Goddesses imprisoned the most evil creatures. And so, he was now imprisoned in the deepest recesses of the Dark Realm. He was returned to his Gerudo form, his Power stripped from his grasp.

At first, Ganondorf attempted in vain to break out, only to fail, over and over again. Then, he realized that the attempts were weakening him more than he already was. So he stopped. He barely did anything. And then, ever so slowly, he began to rebuild his power.

After hundreds of years, he had developed enough to reach out to his fellows, who had been imprisoned, like him, for horrendous acts of evil. He convinced them to lend him their power and then used that power to create a Shadow, a mockery. He molded the Shadow in the likeness of the man who had defeated and imprisoned him so long ago. He chuckled in the irony of that fact before releasing the Shadow upon the world.

The shadow was successful, it's mission being to procure followers, human, demon, spirits, it did not matter. Ganondorf's followers sacrificed everything, family, wealth, even themselves to aid Ganondorf's revival. Laboring under delusion that Ganondorf would help the world that the Shadow fed them, the followers even gave Ganondorf to break free of his imprisonment.

Once free, Ganondorf immediate freed the ones who had given their power to create the Shadow, making them his lieutenants. He amassed an army composed of other evil, tortured souls, who instantly swore allegiance to him. Ganondorf and his new army marched out of the Dark Realm and began a massive invasion of the world.

Regular mortals could not see the reborn Evil King or his army, but the effect on it's presence was disastrous, regular conflicts escalated until brutal, bloody wars riddled the land.

The Goddesses, horrified at how fast a pace that their creations were killing each other, sent forth their own army to do combat with evil. After a millennium constant, destructive war, the forces of Good and Evil drew to a stalemate. Both sides had incurred massive loses, and the Evil King's advisers urged him to end the conflict, otherwise there would be nothing left to rule. You see, the battles between both sides were incredibly destructive. Because mortals could not see the combatants, they assumed that the battles were increasingly violent natural disasters. But after a thousand years, the world was on the brink of collapse, and the Goddesses, fearing the immolation of their subjects, opened up the option of negotiation.

Years later, after heated negotiations, the Goddesses and the Forces of Evil finally came to an agreement. First off, Ganondorf and his lieutenants would achieve Godhood while the Goddesses appointed their own gods and goddesses from powerful, good souls. Secondly, the Goddesses were forbidden from entering any conflicts or interfering between the new minors gods and goddesses. Lastly, Ganondorf and his allies could not cause extensive amounts of destruction.

The two sides co-existed peacefully for a few centuries, while the mortal races of Hyrule rebuilt from the first war. The keyword is 'first war'.

While Ganon's more honorable allies tried their best to stick with the guidelines established by the treaty, Ganon himself continued to regularly wreak havoc upon small villages and towns, with the occasional city. The Goddesses condemned his actions but could not do anything due to the treaty. Instead, they appealed to their champions to stop Ganon from killing more.

Ganon fought the the Gods of Good in what mortals came to know as the Destruction of Mount Eldin as the entire volcano was literally wiped off the map. The battle been had severely weakened both sides and Ganon began to orchestrate mortal kingdoms to renounce the Goddesses and to join him. In the end, the world was split in two, the Gorons, Mogmas, Twili, and Gerudo states joined with Ganon on the promise on power. While the Kokiri, Zora, Sheikah, Anouki, and Hylian kingdoms joined the side of Good and so the Second War began.

The sides fought for two hundred years before both sides finally exhausted their resources. The Goddesses knew that the war need to end due to the massive population decline as both sides sent more and more troops to war.

They broke to treaty as Ganon did and used their ultimate power to violently rip him from the Mortal Realm and smash him into the Dark Realm, which created what legends call the "Crater of Death" with was where Ganon was imprisoned. However, unlike the first time Ganon was imprisoned, he retained his full power. The Goddesses had to sacrifice a massive portion of their energy to create and maintain the prison.

And so, Ganon was imprisoned down in the deepest pit of the Dark Realm, the Goddesses retreated back to the Sacred Realm, powers drained. The Gods of Good hunted and struck down Ganon's lieutenants, forcing them into hiding.

And Ganon cursed the Goddesses, trapped for eternity...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"...Until now.", Zelda finished.

"okay," Link began after a minute's pause. "Let me get this straight. Apparently, there has been two massive wars between good and evil yet I have never heard of them. I would think something as large as that would be at least mentioned every once and a while."

Zelda sighed. "Remember when I said that us mortals couldn't see, right? Well-"

Link cut her off, "if mortals couldn't see it, then how come you just told about it?"

"Because", Zelda restarted, exasperated. "They're in the Golden Texts and the Shrine of Hylia in, well, Hylia City!" She abruptly stood up and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and I need to go to sleep." With that, she stormed upstairs leaving the two men alone.

"She's something, isn't she?"

Link turned to find Sheik smiling, leaned back on his chair, eyes closed.

"What's her problem?", Link grumpily asked.

"Oh, well, Zelda is just being Zelda. She's been cooped up in Streamwood for a while. Bored. Gets high-strung when bored."

"So why doesn't she just leave?"

Sheik's demeanor turned from laid back to nervous and tense, as if he was recalling something unpleasant.

"Uh, well, uh, nothing much, just that leaving might leave the wrong impression on certain people..."

Before Link could ask "what people?" Sheik had stood up and was ushering he to the temporary sleeping quarters that had been setup earlier. "Come'on. Link my friend. You must be tired, with evil gods, executions, and grumpy women, right?"

Instantly, after Sheik bought it up, Link realized how exhausted he was. His muscles screamed out, joints ache, and tended wounds stung as his entire body screamed out in protest of him standing up.

"Yeah... I guess your right...", Link mumbled as he laid down.

Within seconds the black embrace of sleep hugged him as Link heard a voice echo deep in his mind.

_Come. Come to me, little hero, so I may kill you as I wished to do with your ancestor..._


	3. Adventure Calls

The warm sunlight on his face was what woke Link up.

Sitting up, the young man stretched and heard a satisfying pop from his back. Getting up, he made his way into the kitchen.

He entered, looking for something to eat, when he spied a scrap of paper with his name written on it in an untidy scrawl. Link picked it up, examined the parchment curiously before opening it.

_Link!_

_I need to ask you a favor. You see, with evil dragon-god things flying around, I would appreciate it if you could escort Zelda to Kakariko, a city up north, next to the Great Plains of Hyrule. Streamwood is defenseless against dragons, and, well we need some troops. I couldn't go because I have to head back to Ordon, where Mageheart Command is located. Keep Zelda safe, okay._

_Sheik_

_P.S. I left you some rupees, you know, for equipment or whatever. Spend it wisely._

Link looked over the note and spotted a small coin pouch. As he pocketed the pouch, he heard a loud crash and a sharp curse for behind the house. He raced to the back door, swung it open and found Zelda, her front drenched and glaring at a wooden pail as if it just slapped her. As he approached, she spotted him, and, if possible, her scowl worsened.

"What happened?", Link asked.

Zelda frowned even more.

"What do you think? I dropped the pail and water got all over me.," she snapped.

"Okay, okay, no need to bite my head off."

"Shut up", Zelda growled, storming into the house.

Link stared after, thinking what's gotten her so agitated, when the weight of the coin pouch punched through his thoughts.

He smiled, thinking of the only items he wanted. He hopped the fence, and headed towards the main street.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Link returned a short while later, his new chain mail under a green tunic, new leather finger less gloves, and traveling boots that weren't falling apart.

When he entered the house, he found Zelda reading, unmistakably wearing traveling clothes.

"Where are you going?", Link asked.

She looked, considered him, and then turned back to her book.

"City called Kakariko, I was waiting for you to come back so I can give you the key to the house."

Link remembered Sheik's note. "Uh, you can't."

She looked up.

"...Why?"

"I mean you can't give me the key."

"And I ask again, why? Are you so dimwitted that you'd burn my house down when I'm gone?" She smirked at her own insult.

"No, Sheik said I had to escort you."

Instantly her face darkened and her anger seemed to have returned,

"_What?_"

Link showed her the note which she snatched out of his hand. After reading it over at least seven times, she pulled a Shiekah-like scarf over the lower part of her face,handed the note back to Link and growled, "Fine."

Satisfied with her response, Link followed her out of the house.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

The day was beautiful.

The sky was a deep blue, with high up clouds speeding off due to the breeze that was gently caressing the land, causing the grass to whisper. Sunlight reflected on quartz on the mountainside. Link felt truly alive.

The path led them over a bridge with a turbulent river rushing underneath. The route quickly began to shifted upwards as it wound through a small set of rocky hills. After that the hills opened up to a massive plains, stretching so far that the end was impossible to see. Below, a city sat upon a position that was slighty elevated over the plains. As the two came closer to the city, Link could see the walls were old and in a bad state. Wooden scaffolding was built next to the walls, repair tools strewn about the top while large stone bricks laid at the base, ready to be brought up to repair the walls.

"Come."

Zelda sounded drained, all her previous rude attitude gone.

This caught Link attention.

Paying closer attention to the young woman, he noticed how as they drew closer to the city, Zelda seemed to be drained of her energy and her steps became slower, as if she was struggling through a quagmire.

The pair passed a signed that carried the inscription _Kakariko_.

Upon approaching the city gates two guards emerged, converging rapidly on Link and Zelda position. As the guards approached, one drew his sword and commanded, "Halt!"

Link froze, but Zelda keep walking until she was inches away from the guard and removed the scarf from face.

The guard examined her curiously for a second before suddenly starting in surprise. He sheathed his sword and kneeled at her feet and began to talk rapidly.

"Lady Harkinian! My apologies for directing my weapon towards you, but your mother has tightened security since a Mageheart raid a few weeks ago."

Zelda tensed slighty at being addressed as 'Lady Harkinian', but instead of speaking in the nasty, condescending tone that Link had began to associate with her, she spoke in a smooth, silky voice, with just the slight hint of flattery.

"It's quite all right. I admire the way you perform duties so precisely, my good man. But I need to speak with mother..."

Zelda trailed off as the guard immediately jumped to his feet.

"Of course, your ladyship. Come. I will escort to Shadowflight Keep."

Finishing, the guard turned about and began to march to Kakariko. Zelda turned to Link and with a glare and a jerk of her head, signaled for him to follow before replacing the scarf and following the guard.

Link followed, wondering who exactly Zelda Harkinian was.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Link had to admit, Kakariko was impressive despite it's crumbling defenses. The markets were full of of merchants and farmers, selling goods ranging from food to sexual enhancement potions. The building were in good condition and the populace seemed to have more than enough to eat. The sounds of a forge being worked echoed, and several cats slept about. But the most impressive part was the massive castle that laid atop a hill overlooking the city.

That castle was the apparent destination as the guard led them through the streets of the sprawling metropolis. After fifteen minutes of navigating, the trio arrived in front of a set of two massive oak doors.

The guard pushed open both doors and bowed Zelda in while Link followed behind. The pair passed an entrance hall with ornate columns and beautiful paintings and entered a massive room that housed several banquet tables with a large bonfire illuminating the room. At the opposite end, in a throne-like chair, sat a slender woman. Her crimson eyes flashed as the pair entered, and she shifted her sitting position so that her back was straight.

Link could instantly tell she was Shiekah. red eyes with blond hair and naturally tanned skin were always how he identified Shiekah before, and this woman fit the typical Shiekah profile.

Zelda strode forth, stopped in fornt of the Shiekah woman, inclined her head respectful, and said, "Mother."

The woman observed Zelda coldly.

"What is it that you want, child?"

It took Link a few seconds to realized that Zelda seemed extremely tense.

However, when she opened her mouth to respond, Zelda's voice was polite and clipped.

"Mother, have you of what happened in Avolon yesterday?"

The Sheikah quirked her eyebrow.

"No. Enlighten me."

But before Zelda could begin to respond the keep's doors swung open with such force that they banged against the wall. A man wearing the deep blue robes of the court wizard quickly walked in exclaiming, "Governess Impa! If I may have but a-"

"Boltar! I am in the middle of speaking-"

"My apologies, your noble ladyship, but the matter I wish to discuss cannot wait!"

"Boltar", the Shiekah woman named Impa's voice grew dangerously thin.

Boltar detected this and hurriedly said, "Oh, uh, well, I think what I need to say can wait a little more..." With that, the man walked briskly out of the room.

Impa turned her attention back on her daughter. "Now, what about Avolon?"

Zelda took a deep breath before beginning to explain the events that had occurred. As Zelda explained, Impa's was impassive. Finally Zelda finished with a request for city guards to go to Streamwood to help protect the village.

Impa remained silent at this.

"Mother?", Zelda started to ask tentatively, "Are you-"

"Who told you this?"

Zelda blinked. "Uh... That man," she pointed to Link, Impa nodded. "And Shie-"

"DO NOT MENTION THAT UNGRATEFUL BRAT IN MY PRESENCE!", Impa shouted, suddenly furious. "Bad enough that the fool followed his father to the Magehearts, but _you_. Did you join them as well?", the Sheikah demanded.

"Wha-wha, no, no I didn't!", Zelda's voice was beginning to become high-pitched.

"Then what was your brother doing near you!"

"What is wrong with your! He's my brother! Do really expect him to keep away from his sister?"

"I forbade you from seeing him or your father! They're rebels! They wish to destroy everything the Empire built! Everything I built! Yet you allow them into your home! Where your loyalties lie!?"

"They lie with my family. You see, I care what happens to anyone in or family, rebel of not! Unlike you! All you care about is your reputation in front of the Empire!"

By this point both mother and daughter were standing, faces inches apart, eyes filled with anger.

At Zelda's last remark, Impa's eyes widened slighty and after a few seconds, she whispered hoarsly, "If you were not borne from my own flesh and blood I would have you thrown into the dungeons. Leave me before I change my mind. _Now_."

Zelda swelled with indignation but she turned around, angerily marching away. Link hestitated for a few seconds before following.

Only when Zelda ploped herself down on a staircase after they emerged outside, that Link realized that there where tears streaming down the young woman's face.

Unsure of what to do, Link to just hang around until she stopped crying. However, they remained there for at least ten minutes until Link suddenly heard someone clear their throat behind them.

Link spun around only Boltar the court wizard standing there. Boltar smiled sheepishly.

"Would you mind if I asked you something?"

Link gave the mage a look. "That depends."

Boltar took a deep breath. "Well, first off, it's about dragons."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You mean Ganon?"

"Uh, not exactly. I meant his minions."

"He's got dragons for minions?", Link asked, astounded.

"I-I think he does. It was said that he had them during second war, and who's to say that he isn't going to use them again.", Boltar stated.

"Okay, now what about the thing you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes, Yes, okay, listen. I need to go to this place known as the Temple of Time-"

Before Boltar could continue, a voice spoke up.

"Are you talking about _the_ Temple of Time, the one on Mount Kelamesh?"

Zelda stood there, no longer seeming so upset. Though, her eyes were puffy and red and her hair was messy.

"You know of it?", Boltar asked incrediuosly.

"I know many of the legends", Zelda answered simply.

"Interesting", Boltar commented, "but anyways, I need someone to head up to Kelamesh and look for an item that could assist me in learning more about the dragons that Ganon uses and maybe a way to protect against them if Ganon sees fit to use them for war once again."

"One question.", Link said raising his hand. "Why us?"

Boltar scratched the back of his head. "Well, it needs to be done urgently and Governess Impa refuses to believe the possibility of dragons roaming about, so she would allow a detachment of city guards to go up there. Besides, you look like a reliable alternative."

"Alright", Link said, satisfied, "What do you need me to get?"

"Deep within the temple of time is the Slab of Terkau, the greatest general during the second war. It was said that he recorded the identities of hundreds of dragons along with slaying them. Terkau was supposedly buried within the temple with the Slab. It would be a great asset to our people to know more about those creatures and possibly more about Ganon.", Boltar finished.

Link nodded before saying, "What's in it for me?"

Zelda's eyes widened slightly, but Boltar smiled as if he were expecting this. "How does ten thousand rupees sound?"

Link didn't have to think twice. He stuck out his arm and said, "Deal."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

By noon, Link had returned to Streamwood with Zelda. He could have just passed Streamwood and head up to temple, but he had left his sword there and wanted to make sure that Miss Harkinian made it home safe.

Upon arriving, he quickly followed Zelda to her home, in which she climbed up stairs without a word. By the time he had his possessions completely packed and ready to go, Zelda came down stairs again just as he was walking towards the door.

"I'm coming with you."

This stopped Link in his tracks.

"What?"

"You heard me, I'm coming with you."

Link turned to find that Zelda had changed from simple traveling clothes into a pink chain mailed tunic with a white shirt beneath, white leggings, and thick leather boots. She had also tied her hair up behind her head and wore a pink beret. A quiver had been slung over her shoulder and and she held a bow in her hands. Tucking a loose stand of hair behind her head, Zelda gave Link a look that obviously said that she would not take 'no' as an answer.

Link was at a lost on what to do. The last thing he expected was for Zelda to desire to come with him. He didn't expect the quest to the temple to be long and dangerous, but considering the way the woman had treated him this morning did not endear him to the prospect of traveling with her once again.

Zelda seemed to have picked up on this train of thought as she said, "Look. I apologize for the way I treated you today, but going to meet my Mother tends to make me lash out at other people."

"You didn't lash out at the guard," Link pointed out quietly.

"Yes, well, guards don't tend to let you into cities when your rude to them, do they... And I might have a little more respect for guards than for you...", Zelda explained.

Link thought for a second. "Are you good with that bow?"

"I'm good enough."

Link thought about it more. Having an extra sword, or in this case bow, was always better than having one.

"Fine. You can come."

For the first time since meeting her, Link saw Zelda smile, a true smile of genuine happiness. The smile enhanced her beauty and Link thought he could just stand there all day to the smile.

The smile, however, was short lived as Zelda brushed past him saying, "Alright, let's go."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Link hated Mount Kelamesh.

The journey started out easy enough, with the path steadily inclining upwards. For two hours Link enjoyed the hike. Then snow started to fall as they climbed higher and higher up. It started as flurries, and Link didn't mind. Then, thirty minutes later, the flurries became a full blown blizzard, leaving him and Zelda to struggle through knee deep snow.

After an hour of misery, Link spotted a flickering light which deduced were flames. He looked over to his traveling companion, who apparently saw the fire as she was making a beeline for it.

As they approached, however, Link spotted several dark shapes moving about the fire. Zelda was almost to where the the fire was when Link tackled her. Placing a hand over her mouth to muffle her surprised yelp, Link quickly checked the fire to make nothing had detected their presence. Turning back to Zelda, leaned forward to whispered, "Shhhhh. Sorry. Keep quiet."

Zelda acknowledged this with a glare that clearly asked _what the hell did you do that for?_

Slowly, retracted his hand away from her mouth and whispered one word.

"Bandits."

Zelda's eyes widened, and whispered back, "What do we do?"

Link observed three bandits, who were counting spoils that were probably obtained from some poor fellow that was no doubt dead by now, and he formulated a plan which he quickly relayed to Zelda who nodded in agreement.

With that he emerged and quietly snuck up behind the first bandit. When he was right behind the man he unsheathed his sword. The bandit heard this and was turning around when Link's sword slashed across the bandit's chest. The fallen man let out a startled cry as he collapsed on the snow covered ground. The sound alerted the two other bandits who glared murderously at Link, reaching for their weapons. Right of cue, Zelda spring up, her bow drawn, and released an arrow that buried itself in the thigh of one bandit, causing him to stumble and fall onto the ground. The other bandit quickly grabbed his own bow and duck behind a tree while returning fire. The injured bandit picked up his own sword and charged Link, who quickly parried the blow. The bandit continued to attempt to get past Link's sword while Link simply made sure to easily parry the incoming attacks.

Link waited until the bandit tired himself out before going on the offensive. Link stabbed the bandits sword arm before he could react, kicked in to a snowdrift before landing a finishing blow on the bandit.

With that enemy dispatched, Link turned to find that the last bandit and Zelda were still engaged. The two adversaries were constantly taking pot shots at one another while trying outmaneuver each other as well. The bandit, however, was limping because, by some strange will of the Goddesses, he had taken an arrow to the knee! Link quickly manuevered around the bandit who was so preoccupied with shooting his bow at Zelda that he didn't noticed Link until a sword was plunged into his chest and Link ended the battle then and there.

Link wiped his sword clean and sheathed it before heading to the snow drift that Zelda was currently crouched in. The woman was slightly disheveled, her had a somewhat wild looked to them as she continuously scanned the area with her eyes, no doubt expecting to find more bandits.

As Link approached, she turned and pointing the strung bow at his heart before relaxing when she realized it was just him.

"Relax", Link said, "They're all dead."

Zelda nodded and got up. "Alright. Let's keep going."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

After another hour of climbing, Link and Zelda arrived at the peak of Mount Kelamesh. The ferocity of the snow storm had weakened and through the falling snow Link spotted a massive, ruined structure.

"Look.", Link nudged Zelda.

"Yes," she said", that should be the entrance to the Temple of Time."

"Let's go."

"Of course."

They made their way to a dark, gaping hole in the center of the ruins.

"Well", Link said with a flourish, "ladies first."

"Shut up", Zelda growled, shoving him part way down the entrance, but out of the corner of his eye Link thought he saw her give a small smile.

The two climbed down the hole until it opened up to a large chamber. It incredibly dark, and Link could barely see his hand in front of his face. He heard Zelda ruffling around in her pack and he turned in the general direction of the noise asking, "Hat are you doing?"

"Hold on!", Zelda answered with a hiss. A few seconds later, it seemed to Link's ears that she had began to strike two stones together. Another few seconds and a orange warm light erupted in the darkness. Link realized that Zelda had brought and lit a torch and that he hadn't thought up bringing anything like that. Zelda seemed to know as she gave him a look of pride and cockiness. This look was short lived as for some reason unknown to Link it gave away to a look of horror.

That was when Link heard a chittering noise behind him.

Turning around slowly, Link saw ,to his horror, a crowd of massive spider who where taking in the newcomers with each of their eight eyes. Link backed up slowly until he was next to Zelda.

"What are they?", Link whispered in her ear.

Zelda was shaking slightly as she whispered back, "Skulltulas."

"What?"

"Spider creatures who joined Ganon's forces in the First and Second Wars. After his defeat they retreated deep into the wilderness. Flesh is supposed to be their favorite meal...", Zelda's voice quivered as she finished.

Link observed the crowd of Skulltulas, who were drawing closer, their chittering increase in volume. At this, Zelda let out a panicked squeak and began reaching for an arrow. Before she grabbed one, however, Link already had his sword out and was committing what was probably the most stupid act in Hylian history.

He charged the Skulltula.

The Skulltula were slow to react, as by the time they began to mobilize against Link, two of their brethren were dead and several injured by Link's sword.

Apparently, they were stupefied by the stupidity of Link's actions.

Link's initial attack had left the Skulltula disoriented for a few seconds. Unfortunately those few seconds weren't enough to deal heavy damage to the crowd of spiders. Shortly after, Link began to become overwhelm. One Skulltula jumped on Link's chest knocking him down and it was all Link could do to keep the Skulltulas mandibles away from his face as the rest closed in for the kill.

Suddenly, the Skulltula that was attempting to eat his face stopped moving and Link saw that an arrow had embedded itself in the Skulltula's head. Instantly taking advantage, Link leapt to his feet, grabbed his blade and continued the fight against the Skulltula, and now, Zelda had pushed her fear away the was firing arrows into the Skulltula crowd. They continued to battle with Zelda providing support, killing off any Skulltulas that tried to move around Link or jump on him while he slashed and hacked away.

Finally, the Skulltulas has incurred too many loses and began to withdraw. Only then did Link notice a tunnel lead deeper below. The Skulltulas disappeared in the darkness of that tunnel.

As Zelda approached, Link realized that he had wounds all over his body. Most were scraps and cuts, but injuries that were administered by Skulltula mandibles throbed and stung fiercely, a faint green tint outlining them.

When Zelda saw those wounds, she immediatelty took out a flask of water. "Drink", she said, handing it to him. "Water dilutes Skulltula venom."

"Is the venom deadly?", Link asked.

"Not to Hylians, it just hurts alot."

Link turned his attention back to the tunnel. Now that it wasn't pitch black or that he was fighting agianst big ass spiders, Link thought that the tunnel seemed to let off an aura of danger. Link had a feeling that whatever what was on the other side wouldn't be cuddly and friendly.

He turned to Zelda.

"Well fair maiden, ready to hop out of the pan and into the fire?"


	4. The Gauntlet

Link and Zelda crawled down the dark tunnel, their hands scrapped against the moist walls of the subterranan tube.

They moved carefully, as the floor was damp and covered with some sort of slippery moss making walking difficult. By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, both Link and Zelda were sporting cuts and bruises. Link wearily looked around, expecting another Skulltula attack. Fortunatly, no gaint killer spiders were in sight. Instead, Link saw that they had come into a corridor. From what he could see from the limited light coming from the torch being clutched in Zelda's left hand, the corridor was old and worn, the roots of unknown plants growing out of cracks in the floor, ceiling, and walls. Columns that once had intricate designs craved into them were now so eroded that the beauty they no doubt once had was gone, washed away by the centuries.

"Come on.", Link ordered to Zelda as he began to walk down the corridor. However, before he could more than a few steps, Zelda thrusted out her hand, placing on his chest and keeping him from going further.

"Wait."

Link looked at her in suprise and curiousity. "What are y-."

Zelda cut him off, glaring a the pitch black end of the tunnel, saying, "There's Skulltula there."

Link instantly turned, unsheathing him sword, just in time to see five of the dreaded arachnids emerged from the shadows. Link attacked, quickly dispatching one and turning to kill another as two arrows zipped past him and extinguished the lives of two more. The last two immediately retreated, hissing at the two Hylians.

Panting slightly, Link turned to Zelda and asked, "How did you know they were coming?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "What ever do you mean?"

"You heard the Skulltula coming, but I didn't, and I have pretty sharp hearing for a Hylian."

Zelda smirked, "For a male Hylian maybe."

"What?"

Zelda flicked her ear. "You see this?"

"Yes."

"What's different about my ear from yours?"

Link looked at Zelda's ear, which was elongated and protruded out from her head by about two inches, and compared it to his own, which resembled a pointy version of the rounded ears of the Gerudo and regular Humans.

"Your's is longer?", Link guessed.

"...And?"

"Coming out the side of your head?"

"Uh, yes, they extend from my head, and therefore...?"

The way Zelda talked to him began to make Link feel like some sort of idiot. "Therefore they are... Pointy?"

Zelda let out an exasperated sigh. "No reta-", Zelda caught herself, remembering their agreement that they had come upon before leaving Streamwood for Mount Kelamesh. "I mean, no. The reason I can hear better is because, like the majority of Hylian women, the way my ears are shaped allow me to hear better. It's one reason why women are better than men."

Link frowned. "Whatever. Just let me know if you hear the last two Skulltulas, I don't want to get my face bitten off."

With that, the pair continued to journey deeper into the depths.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

They careful made their down the ruined corridor, Zelda acting as a early warning system for any nasty surprises. As they continued to press forward, a sudden thought occurred to Link.

"What's up with you and your mom?", Link asked, shooting a curious glance over to Zelda.

Zelda let out a small sigh. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that. Alright. I'll tell you."

Link waited for her to continue.

Taking a deep breath, as if to steel herself, Zelda began. "Eight years ago, my whole family was together, living in Kakariko. My mother was the governess, like she still is today, and my father was only of her advisors. The two of them had fallen in love, and my mother broke all the rules of Sheikah society just to be with my father. They married, and a few years later, Sheik was born, and four years after that, me. Mind you, the War of Empires was being fought at this time. When I turned five, the war ended with the unconditional surrender the United Imperial Provinces, in other words us, to the Confederate Powers of Termina. Termina imposed all sorts of bans on the empire, making Lon Lon milk illegal and such while forcing the Empire to pay tribute. In Hyrule, people in Hyrule began to become discontent, especially because the Empires was taking large amounts of food to ship to the more 'important' provinces, like Goronia, Domain, and Twilex Because they other main food providing provinces had been annexed by the Confederacy during the war. People began to voice complaints and the radicals started to say the Hyrule should secede from the Empire and be an independent kingdom like in ancient times. One of these people was Rauru Mageheart. He began to make passionate speeches throughout Hyrule, increasing the already growing unrest, strengthening the support for the people who wanted secession. One of these people was my father. When I was five, he got into a massive argument with my mother over the issue. For weeks, the two were constantly at each others throats, until finally they agreed to stop because it was upsetting Sheik and me, but nothing was ever the same between them again. They no longer hugged or kissed each other, no more light hearted teasing of jokes with one another. I think that was when they stopped loving each other. And so, four years later, my father received a letter from Rauru Mageheart, personally asking him to come join the Mageheart rebellion, which at the time was a small devoted group. My father instantly accepted, and he told the news to my mother and tried to convince her to come with him to Ordon and join up. I don't I ever saw her more angry then she was that day. The two of them exchanged verbal blows as me and Sheik watched until my father finally turned to us. He asked me and Sheik if we wanted to come with him. Sheik agreed immediatly, but I, I tried to stop this... Tried to tell both that they were being stupid... Tried to remain as neutral as possible. So instead I moved to a friend's house in Streamwood, seeing that if I stayed in Kakariko my father would think that I was on my mother's side, but staying with the district of Hyrule that my mother watched and not making her think that I had gone with my father. So when I came of age, I left the home of my dear friend and managed to scrape together just enough rupees to buy my own home, all the while trying to repair the rift between the two sides of my family and keeping it from getting wider. I've tried so h-hard..."

Link realized that Zelda had silent tears streaming down her face. Not really sure on how to handle this, he reached behind her and hesitantly patted her back in a comforting way. They stopped until Zelda pulled herself together.

"Sorry.", she said quietly, "Let's keep going."

she began to moved at a much more quickened pace while Link followed. If there was one thing he learned from this was that the strong, arrogant attitude that he had come to associate with Zelda was nothing but a front to hide a sad, lonely girl trying desperately to hold onto the remains of her family.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

For an hour they walked on, carefully picking their way through the ruined corrider that twisted about. For an hour, Link pondered what Zelda revealed. And for an hour, no skulltulas revealed themselves.

As they progressed, webs began to appear. Some were dry and nothing more than cobwebs, others were more recent and had cocoons stuck on the sticky fibers. The tunnel began to turned downwards to the light in some sort of spiral and more webs appear. Several minutes in, they saw a Skulltula wrapping some unlucky creature. At first, the pair prepared to battle the archnid but it ignored their presence, instead continuing in its actions.

The pair hestitantly moved forward and as the walked more and more Skulltulas appeared, each not paying any mind to them.

"I don't like this.", Zelda muttered. "They should be swarming us by now."

Link didn't verbally acknowledge her comment, but he couldn't shake the feeling that somethings was waiting for them.

After several stressful minutes of walking, the corridor opened up to a large room. Cold sunlight came down through a collapsed portion of the ceiling and the walls were completely shrouded in fresh webbing. Several Skulltula were crowded in the upper part, chittering excitedly. But most disturbing was the man who was encased in webbing on the opposite side of the room. Link thought he was dead until his head jerked up, spotted Zelda and him, and began to struggled against the webbing restraining him while yelling, "HELP! HELP ME!"

Before Link could stop her, Zelda raced forward, asking, "Oh Goddesses. What happened to you?"

"Please." The man whimpered. "Help me before she gets back."

"She?", Link asked. "Who is 'she'?"

Before the man could reply and voice hissed above their heads. "I am the one he speaks of."

Link's head jerked up to see the source of the voice and almost wished he hadn't.

Out from the shadows crawled a massive creature that seemed to be a cross between a Hylian and a Skulltula. Both he and Zelda shrunk back horror.

At this the monstrosity laughed, if you could call it that.

"Yes. I am quite hidious, aren't I?"

It began to crawl down the walls until it reached the floor. "So long I have waited to taste the flesh of a Hylian. Two hundred years to be exact. And finally, one day three walk willing into the lair of me and my children. Two I was already expecting, but a third," it flicked a leg in the direction of the trapped man, "Is just a bonus."

Zelda stepped forward. "Release him and let us pass or me and my companion will be forced to kill you."

The spider hissed. "Foolish girl." Then it spewed a massive glob of web at Zelda. Before the woman could dodge the thick blob slammed into her, pushing her into a wall, and gluing her there.

"Zelda!", Link shouted, running to her side. Zelda groaned, her face rapidly losing color.

"What's happening?", Link asked panickly.

The creature let out a hissing laugh. "Why I poisoned the web, boy. Give it a few minutes and it will bypass her skin turn her insides into a delicious liquid for me.", the beast crackled.

Link backed up as the monster began to crawl closer when Zelda's weak voice drew his attention.

"Link... Gohma... Verna's servant... Hit... Eye...", she panted out before her body seized up she let out a whimper of pain.

Gohma chuckled amusedly again. "It's starting to take root..."

Link fear was suddenly transformed into anger. He was not going to let Zelda's insides turn into a soup for this creature to slurp.

Glaring at Gohma, he drew his sword.

Gohma's sickening features grinned horribly. "I was hoping you would put up a fight. I hate when meals just give up."

With that, the Queen of the Skulltulas charged, attempting to run Link down. However, Link hit the ground, letting the monster pass over him, before back up to hit her abdomen. Unfortunately, Gohma seemed to sense this as she raised her hind legs to block the strike. Link pressed the attack in an attempt to break through, but Gohma's defense remained strong. Link maneuvered around the creature, attempting to find a weak spot while Gohma shot web and swiped her legs at him.

Link was so absorbed with this that he started when he heard a bloodcurdling scream, turning, he saw that Zelda was deathly pale, foaming around the mouth and beginning to convulse. Realizing how little time he had Link began another assault on the spider, attempting to break through. Gohma easy rebuffed him and took a swipe at his head, which he barely dodged.

At a loss on what to do, Link backed up till he was near the chamber's wall. Suddenly he remember something Zelda said as the poison began to take effect.

_Hit... Eye..._

_Hit... Eye...?_

Suddenly Link realized what she was trying to say.

Hit the eye.

Which eye?, Link thought, she has ,like, twenty.

Suddenly, Gohma reared up, as if to indimidate him and Link saw it. On her underside was a yellow eyeball. Link instantly knew that that was the eye he needed to hit. He needed to get under Gohma somehow.

He tried to think of a way to get under when a pained shriek reminded him that he didn't have much time left. So he just charged at Gohma.

She grinned wickedly and raised her front legs to impale him. Before she, though, Link hit the ground and slid under the monster. Looking up, he saw that chitin lids had closed around the eye, leaving only a sliver open.

Good enough.

Link took his sword and quickly began to force it through. Gohma realized what he was doing too late as the sword peiced the eye.

Gohma let out a dreadful wail.

"VERMIN!", she cried and tried to impale Link.

Link twisted out of the way, rolled out from under the creature and turned to face Gohma again.

"Impudent creature!", Gohma snarled, "When I am though with you, you-"

Gohma's words were silenced as Link took a moved forward and buried his blade in the weakened Gohma's head.

Gohma collapsed, her legs twitching as death overcame her.

She looked Link in the eye and said, her dying words. "H-he will kill you... Kill all of you..."

Link stood there, over the corpse of his enemy. He took a second to congratulate himself before a hissing noise near his hand.

Looking down, Link saw that Gohma's blood was eating away at his sword.

Throwing it away, he urgently made his way to Zelda and began ripping off the webbing, which was now becoming brittle due to Gohma's death.

As the last of the webbing gave away Zelda fell forward. Link caught but nearly let go in revusion of a slimly film that had envoloped everything except her head.

It took Link a second to realize that the film was the poisen that had laced Gohma's webbing. Then he noticed how shallow her breathing was.

Link panicked and opened the pack on her hip that she had pulled the Skulltula anti-venom at the first Skulltula. How was about to administer it when he remember the poisonous film and realized that the antidote would do no good if the film remained on her body.

Link looked around for something to wash the poison off. Scanning the chamber, Link spotted a sheet of cracked ice, no doubt punctured by one of Gohma's legs in the battle.

Link rushed over to the ice, picked up a nearby rock and began smashing it against ice, widening the crack until finally the ice gave away leaving a pool of icy water behind.

He raced back to Zelda's side and quickly stripped everything from weapons to clothing, leaving only her underwear. He then picked her up and made his way to the pool.

He dropped her in, keeping her untainted head above the the freezing water. After several seconds he hoisted her out and grabbed the anti-venom.

Openning her slack jaw, he began to coax drops of the serum down her throat.

"Come on, Zelda", Link muttered. "Come on. Don't die on me."

For half a minute, nothing happened, but then, suddenly, the color returned to her skin and with a sharp intake of breath, her eyes flew open. Instantly, Zelda began to shiver uncontrollable.

Link grabbed a blanket that had been nestled in the bottom of her pack and wrapped it around her shoulders.

When the shivering subsided, she gave a weak glare and said in a slightly annoyed voice, "...What took you... So long?"

Link gave a small smile, "Sorry. Killing giant skulltulas isn't exactly easy. It takes a little time."

Zelda returned the smile weakly. "Sure It does." Suddenly a look of confusion came over her face. " Am I in my underwear?"

Link was saved from the awkwardness of answering that particular question when somebody cleared their throat from behind.

"Um, before you two, I don't know, make love or something, could one of you cut me free?"

Link stared at the man which they saw earlier, who was still stuck in Gohma's web. Even though the webbing had become quite brittle upon the Skulltula queen's death, the man had so much around her that it didn't make much of a difference.

Link felt his ears begin to burn at the man's remark. "We're not going to make love..."

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever you say. Just cut me loose."

Link reached over his shoulder, half-expecting to grip his sword, but of course it currently laid half disintegrated on the other side of the room. Looking at where her threw the majority of Zelda's stuff, Link spied a dagger next to her pink tunic.

He looked over at Zelda. She understood his intent and said, "Just use it." She looked somewhat dumbfounded at the prospect the Link had unclothed her, and a slight tinge of red added to her complexion.

Link grabbed the dagger, walked over to the man, and began cutting away the webbing. Behind him, he heard the unsteady footsteps and the rustling of cloth. Link assumed that Zelda was beginning to redress herself.

Then he noticed something odd.

"How come you aren't poisoned?" He asked the man.

"Well, you see," the man began. "When you're an experience adventurer, you know that a patch of powdered anti-venom sewn onto the your armor is a necessary precaution when going into a Skulltula nest."

"Yeah, sure.", Link answered. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Arlen."

Link nodded and continued to work away at the strands of webbing.

"Hey," Arlen spoke up, "What exactly are two kids like you running around a bunch of ruins for?"

Before Link could answer, Zelda's weak voice spoke up from behind him.

"We're looking for the Slab of Terkau."

"Oh. Are you now? That's... Interesting."

Link thought he heard a change in the tone of his voice at this, but signed it off as a product of his imagination.

Finally, the last strands gave away and Arlen was free.

"Ah, thank you.", Arlen sighed. "I am indebted to you."

"Your welcome."

Arlen reached into his pouch. "Here. Allow me to repay you for your kindness."

He pulled something out and handed to Link.

"It's... A key, _friend_.", Arlen said, slowly backing up to the exit of the room.

Link looked at what had been deposited in his hand. It definitely wasn't a key.

Keys don't hiss and flash red.

"BOMB!",Link yelled while rapidly pelting at the opposite wall.

Just as it hit the wall, the bomb exploded with a concussive boom, knocking Link unti the ground.

Through the ringing of his ears, Link heard Arlen's voice saying, "Do you think I am a fool! I know why your here! To take all the treasure for your self! You can tell Linebeck that everything here belongs to me!"

By the time Link manage to regain his senses, Arlen had disappeared deeper into the temple.

Link turned to find Zelda wobbling towards him.

"ARE YOU OKAY?", she yelled.

"Why are you talking so loud?"

"WHAT?"

"Stop yelling!"

"I'M SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

Link glared at Zelda in annoyance. "Fine, we'll wait until you can hear again."

"WHAT?"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

After losing precious time waiting for Zelda to regain her hearing, the pair set off to chase down Arlen.

Unfortunatly, the path was slow going.

The combination of Zelda, who was still weak from Gohma's poisoning, and Arlen, who seemed to have decided to set off more bombs along his way, half collapsing the tunnels and making the way extremely difficult.

After navigating the through another heavily damaged corridor, the two walked side by side.

"I'm curious", Zelda spoke up suddenly. "How exactly did you learn how to take off a woman's clothing?"

At first, Link was shocked at the question, until he realzed the reason for asking was because he had almost taken off all her clothes to get the poison off her.

"Uh, well... I've done it before... You know, under different circumstances.", Answered Link hesitantly, turning slightly red.

Zelda nodded.

The two walked in silence.

"Do you think Arlen will get away?"

"I doubt it.", Zelda answered, "There's only one way in and out."

They continued to walk until the passageway opened up into a giant room with four massive pillars holding up a crumbling roof. All along the walls were several niches with severly decayed bodies and skeletons. And, in the center of this new room was Arlen, impaled by several swords and spears and hung on top of a large rock.

"what in the name of Nayru...", Zelda muttered as they drew closer.

"What could have done something like things?", Link asked.

Zelda didn't answer, instead looking at Arlen.

Suddenly, a clattering noise fill the room.

Link turned to see several skeletons standing up, swords in there bony hands. "Uhhh... Zelda? I think I found what did it."

Zelda spun around. "Oh Gods no..."

Link drew a sword from Arlen's body and looked at her. "I'm guessing you know what those things are?"

"Stalfos", Zelda muttered. "Minions of Malladus."

"God of the Undead, right?" Zelda nodded, shakily pulling out her bow. Her arms quivered slightly as she tried to nock an arrow. After several vain attempts, she gave up. Looking at Link weakly, she said, "I can't, Gohma's stupid poison."Instead, Zelda unsheathed her dagger.

There were five Stalfos closing in on them, clattering in exictement of their next kill. One was faster then the other and made it to Link before the other. It tried to jab the man with a black, wicked looking blade, but Link sidestepped the attack and stab the skeleton in the skull.

By now, the rest of the stalfos reached the pair. The stalfos seemed to have lost there skill during their death, but they still had enough to make Link sweat. Unfortunately for Zelda, because her weakness and the fact that the dagger's blade was shorter than the swords that the skeletons carried She was being backed up towards the rock where Arlen's corpse lay.

Seeing her predicament, Link doubled his efforts to defeat the two Stalfos that were trying to kill him. Link ducked as a skeleton tried to behead him and slashed forward, slicing off several ribs. The injured Stalfos stumble back, clutching what was left of it's ribcage as Link turned his attention on it's companion. The second Stalfos blocked a barrage of sword blows and returned the attack. Link hissed as the blade cut into his shoulder, but then grabbed the skeleton's arm and yanked it forward, causing the skeleton to impale itself on his sword. Link then spun around and threw his sword at the first Stalfos. The blade whistled through the air and found it's mark on the Stalfos' skull.

Hear a yelp behind him, Link turned to see Zelda grappling with a Stalfos, while the other was propped up against a pillar with her dagger buried in it's skull.

Link picked up a rock and ran over to the fight. As he neared the Stalfos, Link raised the arm with the rock and bashed the Stalfos' head so hard that it was knocked off.

Zelda was breathing heavily. "I... Could have handled that, you know..."

"I'm sure you could have, but I didn't feeling like waiting.", Link said.

Zelda glared and nodded at the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I've had worse.", Link tried to walk to the exit, but Zelda's hand gripped his arm and pulled him back and began examining it. She pulled out a small glass bottle that was filled with a purple liquid. She pour some on the wound and caused Link to grunt as the cut burned due to the liquid.

When Link looked back at his wound, he saw a patch of very irritated skin insteand of a sword wound. "Where in the Dark Realm do you get this stuff?"

Zelda stowed the potion back in her bag. "If we get out of here alive, I'll show you."

"Fair enough.", Link flexed his arm. Only a slight stinging sensation was left.

Zelda moved passed him. "Alright, let's keep moving."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The pair moved through the tunnels once again, though this time the way was much easier. They continued the path slanting downwards until finally the tunnel opened up once again to a different room.

This room was completely different form the other they had been to. The floor was covered with grass and birds sung in the air. Sunlight gleamed down from a circular opening in the ceiling. In the center of the light was a sword. The sword's blade was buried in a pedestal. The hilt was a strange, purple, winged design with gold guilded into certain parts of it.

Just out of the circle of light was a coffin and on top of it was a large stone tablet with a map that was obviously a map of Hyrule.

Zelda stepped forward, eyes closed and a look of bliss on her face. "This place...", she sighed. "It feels like it's healing my body and soul."

Link had the same feeling but it didn't distract him from the task at hand. He went to look at the tablet on the coffin. "Is this the Slab of Terkua?"

Zelda open her eyes and gave the tablet a quick look. "Yes." Then she turned her attention to the the sword in the center of the room. "Oh my goddess..."

"What?", Link asked.

Zelda walked to the sword. "This... This is the sword of legend, evil's bane, the Master Sword!"

"Huh?", Link said confusedly.

Zelda gave out a irritated sigh. "This is the most famous, most legendary sword there is! It was orginally crafted by the goddess Hylia and improved by her hero." She looked at in wonder. Slowly, she inched her hand towards it.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if I can touch it..."

"...Why?"

Zelda gave him an annoyed look. "Because only the descendant of Hylia's Hero can touch this sword and I want to see if I am." With that she attempted to grab the hilt, but an inch before her hand could touch the weapon it was stopped by an invisible force. The young woman struggled against the barrier for a few seconds before giving up.

Link laughed. "I guess you're not one of his descendants!"

Zelda glared at him. "Why don't you try then?"

Link shrugged. "Okay." He walked over and reached out. As his hand reached the point where Zelda's hand was stopped he braced to feel something block him. However, this never happened and his hand continued till it was grasping the hilt. Link's eyes popped out and then he felt some sort of instinctual response to the blade and yanked it out of the pedestal.

With the Master Sword in his hand he turned to face Zelda, who was staring at Link in astonishment.

Link chuckle weakly. "Well, I think I know who one of my ancestors are now..."


End file.
